Protecting children around dogs

Dog-proofing Your Children

Whether you have a dog or not, teach your children how to behave around strange dogs.  They should know never to approach a strange dog that is loose and unattended.  They should ask and receive permission before approaching or petting any dog they meet on-leash.  If chased by a loose dog, they should hold very still with their hands at their sides, like a tree.  Avoid direct eye contact.  When the dog loses interest, they should slowly back out of the dog’s territory. If the strange dog attacks, they should put something between them and the dog, like a backpack, as a shield for the dog to bite.  If on their bikes, they probably cannot outrace most dogs, but they may be able to stop and put the bike between them and the dog.  If a dog knocks them down, they should curl into a ball, cover their face and ears with their arms and hands, and lie quiet and still.  They should leave alone dogs that are sleeping or eating.  These scenarios may be scary for you and your children to talk about, but the children will be safer if they have this knowledge. 

One final word of caution about kids and dogs:  children seem to love hugging dogs.  Please realize that hugging is a primate, not a canine, behavior.  Many dogs must actively be taught to accept hugging from children or anyone else.  Dogs tend to see a hug not as a friendly gesture, but as dominance or unwelcome restraint.  If you allow your children to hug your new dog at all, instruct them not to hug until you are sure the dog will accept hugging from you and then from each of the kids.  They should know only to hug when you are present to supervise, and to never, ever hug someone else’s dog.  Since most dog-bites occur on children’s faces, you should encourage them to keep their faces away from dogs’.  Other great ideas on bite-prevention appear in Jean Donaldson’s The Culture Clash.